U.S. gymnast Simone Biles suffered what appeared to be an injury to her left calf during warm-ups on Sunday, but she finished the rest of the competition with thick athletic tape wrapped around her ankle.
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Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images
PARIS — Gymnast Simone Biles appeared to strain her leg during a warm-up routine on her first day of competition at the 2024 Olympics — an injury that raised eyebrows but ultimately did not end. There was no stopping her from completing her training and finishing in first place.
After the game, Biles’ coach Cecil Landy downplayed the seriousness of the injury. “She felt something in her calf,” Randy said.
Despite the injury, Biles still posted high scores, including a vault-high 15.8. Coupled with a strong performance from her teammates, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team was good enough to earn a spot in Tuesday’s team all-around finals, with the U.S. being the favorite. The individual all-around final is scheduled for Thursday.
Randy said there are no concerns “at this time” about Biles’ ability to compete in these events.
Biles appeared to hurt her leg while warming up for the floor exercise, her second apparatus of the night. After the pass, Biles gingerly stepped off the mat and conferred with his coach before briefly disappearing from the floor. Afterwards, she came back and wrapped the ankles and shins with thick athletic tape.
Despite the injury, Biles continued to complete the rest of the routine, earning a high score of 15.8 points in the vault competition. Randy said “it never occurred to her” whether it would continue.
Simone Biles performed the floor exercise with tape on her ankle and calf on Sunday.
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Expectations are high for Biles and the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics.
Biles, 27, has been performing at the highest level of his career since returning to competition last year after a two-year hiatus. She is considered the favorite to win at least three individual gold medals as well as the team all-around gold for Team USA
Injury can thwart those wishes. “First and foremost, I just want to make sure she’s in good shape physically and then we go from there,” women’s technical director Chellsie Memmel said. “What she can do, look like she has some soreness or something in her calf, is remarkable.”
Randy revealed that Biles briefly had calf problems earlier this month. “After that, it stopped. And then it picked up a little bit again today,” Randy said. “It’s just a little pain in my calf.”
The U.S. women’s team ended this qualifying round in first place as a team. Gymnast Jordan Chiles and defending individual all-around champion Sunisa Lee both trailed Biles by about 3.5 points.
“Their goal is very obvious, which is to go home with a gold medal,” Memel said.
Biles was last in Sunday’s three rounds. As a result, she had the full attention of an estimated 15,000 spectators while her competitors took a break, many of whom – including celebrities Snoop Dogg, Tom Cruise and Anna Wintour – came Look at her.
